One of the best experiences at Christmas is baking festive treats with your children! Our fun Christmas dinner ideas are sure to fascinate you and your little ones. Have fun baking with children at Christmas!
Making Christmas tree cookie stacks at home
Ask yourself whether you would rather decorate a real tree or a sugar cookie Christmas tree? Try making this cute recipe with your little ones this Christmas!
Ingredients:
180g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g sugar
1 No
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
270 g Allzweckmehl
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Frosting:
230 g Butter
450g powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons water or milk
Green gel glaze color
3 tablespoons red and white pearl sprinkles
18 yellow star sprinkles
Instructions for preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in egg, vanilla and almond extract. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to form a smooth dough.The dough will bebe thick.
- Form cookie dough balls into three sizes: 1 teaspoon, 2 teaspoons and 3 teaspoons. (There should be an even number of each). Place medium and large cookies on a baking sheet and press each lightly. Bake until the center is mostly cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes.
- Place the smallest balls of dough on another baking tray and press them down lightly. Bake until the center is mostly cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. When the cookies are ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes, then place on a wire rack and allow to cool.
Make icing:
- Beat the butter until fluffy. Add half of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons water and stir until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add green gel icing color to the icing and stir until the desired shade of green is achieved.
Assembling the cookies:
- Take one size of each cookie. Fill a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip with green icing.
- Pipe a swirl of icing onto the largest cookie, then place the second medium cookie on top. Pipe a swirl of icing onto the second cookie, then place the smallest cookie on top. Pipe a swirl on the last cookie and decorate with a star and round sprinkles. Build more cookie trees and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Bake candy cane cookies with the kids
These cookies are teardrop shaped (no rolling pin required) with lots of colorful Christmas sprinkles and candy cane flavored Hershey's Kisses pressed into the center. They're the nut-free peppermint version of the classic peanut butter blossoms!
Ingredients:
260 g Allzweckmehl
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
200 g granulated sugar
1 large egg, warmed to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
ca. 90 g Nonpareil-Streusel
32-36 Candy Cane Flavored Hershey's Kisses, unpackaged
Instructions for preparation:
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low until well combined. The dough will be very thick.
- Form the dough into balls, about a tablespoon of dough at a time. The dough may seem dry, but the warmth of your hands will help it form into a ball. However, if the dough is extremely sticky and difficult to roll, chill it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and then try again. Roll each dough ball generously in the crumbles and place on a baking sheet or plate (whatever fits in your fridge). Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- While the cookie dough balls are cooling, preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Place the chilled dough balls on top, about 5 cm apartlined baking sheetsset. Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges appear set. The cookies may not be fully baked in the middle; that’s ok – don’t over bake. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes.
- Place the Hershey's Kisses: Press a kiss into the center of each cookie, then use a thin spatula to immediately transfer the cookies to a large plate or several smaller plates (careful - they are soft). Place the plate(s) with the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes so that the candy in the cookie sets quickly.
- Remove from freezer and serve. The cookies will stay fresh, covered, at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Baking with kids at Christmas: polar bear cupcakes
What else can you bake with children at Christmas? These cute polar bear cupcakes with sweet fondant icing and delicious coconut flakes are the perfect Christmas treat for friends and family. An easy Christmas baking recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make!
Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
125 g caster sugar
2 large, lightly beaten eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 g self-cooking flour
For the topping:
50g butter, softened
125g powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
500g white fondant icing
80g dried coconuts
50g black fondant icing
Method of preparation:
- Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan oven 160°C. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with 12 muffin cups. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs little by little, stirring well in between.
- Fold in the vanilla extract and flour and divide the mixture between the muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes until well risen and golden. Remove the cakes from the tin and let them cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
- For the buttercream, beat the butter with a hand mixer until light. Add the powdered sugar a spoonful at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the milk and continue beating until the mixture is pale and creamy.
- Roll out two thirds of the white fondant icing and cut out 12 circles using a 7cm cookie cutter - these will form the polar bear's face. Press the edge of the circles in two places to create the polar bears' ears. Brush the topeach muffinwith some buttercream and then place a circle of fondant icing on each cupcake.
- Divide the remaining fondant into 12 pieces and roll each piece into a small ball. Glue the balls onto the cupcakes with a dab of water and then lightly brush the entire fondant icing with water and dip it in the desiccated coconut to coat it completely.
- Take the black fondant icing and roll out 12 balls for the noses and 24 small balls for the eyes. Glue these onto the bears to create the faces. That's how funny you can bebaking with childrenon Christmas day!
